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After a while, whether you are attending or vending, craft shows can all seem to be the same. A mixture of craft home decor, grandma’s crochet, paper arts, jewelry, and a few direct sales tables (tupperware, etc). They can be really fun, but over the last two years, Heidi and I have really started to question if this is the right avenue to explore for our business. Then we met Katie, who coordinated our first show at the Indie Banditas Bazaar, and she said “You guys need to be at Urban Craft. You’re the perfect fit for that show.” And we were like… “uh, what’s Urban Craft?” After she walked away from our table, we immediately googled it and instantly fell in love with the entire philosophy.

Carly and Heidi, co-owners

We were accepted into our first show with Urban Craft Uprising this last June and had an amazing experience. Each show is carefully curated and juried to ensure the best mix of crafts and arts, along with quality and originality. This bi-annual show features over 150 vendors excelling in the world of craft, art and design. Over the course of 12 years, UCU has garnered so much attention that over 16,000 fans swarm to the show over the course of the weekend. Clearly, our biggest show to date so we worked our buns off building our inventory.

The entire show was so well done, and we were given so much information on a weekly basis by the organizers. Despite it being a huge unknown participating in a show that large, we definitely felt prepared and supported by the organizers and other vendors. We are working on our “Craft Fair Prep 101” list to work off of next time (yes, we are hoping to be a UCU vendor again soon!). The best part about the show was being able to connect with all our customers. Having a primarily online shop, being able to see and visit with our customers was a huge treat. And we were able to get valuable feedback about our products and what people loved most.

For all our Washingtonian friends, we highly recommend this show as a shopper, too! So mark your calendars for the last weekend of June, and the first weekend in December, and head over to the Seattle Exhibition Hall. Here’s a photo of some of my favorites picked up at the summer show, including pieces from Red Umbrella Prints, ElSage Designs, and Specks and Keepings.